Visionary Awards

Last Wednesday, the Council for Economic Education (CEE) held its 12th Annual Visionary Awards dinner at The Plaza Hotel in New York City. During the course of the evening, we showcased our mission, demonstrated our impact, and honored leaders who promote economic and financial literacy to create a better-informed society. Emceed by CNBC’s Senior Economics Reporter, Steve Liesman, the dinner was filled with meaningful discussion about the state of economic and financial literacy education in our country.

The three Visionary Awards recipients are: Gregory Mankiw, Robert M. Beren Professor of Economics at Harvard University; Michael A. Peterson, President and CEO of Peter G. Peterson Foundation; and Daniel H. Schulman, President and CEO of PayPal. The honorees engaged in a thought-provoking “fire-side chat”, where they discussed several economic and financial literacy issues including the future of electronic commerce, our national debt, and the debt that many families currently find themselves in.

CEE also honored three exemplary New York Metropolitan area teachers with the Alfred P. Sloan Teaching Champion Awardsfor their excellence in economic education. These teachers continually deliver this important content in and out of their classrooms and achieve results. This year’s winning teachers are: Doug Kramer, 12th Grade Economics, AP Economics, World History, and Government at Herricks High School; Theodore Opderbeck, 10-12th Grade AP Economics, Honors Economics, Principles of Economics and Personal Finance, US History, Criminal Procedure, and Introduction to Law at Waldwick High School; and Gabriel Tanglao, 10-11th Grade AP US History, and US History I Honors at Bergen County Technical Schools, Teterboro Campus.

Last night, the Council for Economic Education (CEE) held its 11thth Annual Visionary Awards dinner hosting over 300 guests at the Plaza Hotel in New York City. The evening showcased CEE’s mission, our impact to date, and honored leaders who promote economic and financial literacy. Emceed by CNBC’s senior economics reporter, Steve Liesman, the evening was a night of meaningful discussion and amiable conversation.

Four leaders who continue to advance our mission were honored with the Visionary Awards. The honorees were : Arianna Huffington, Founder of The Huffington Post and Founder and CEO of Thrive Global; Richard Edelman, President and CEO of Edelman; Frank Bisignano, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board of First Data Corporation; and Glenn Hubbard, Dean and Russell L. Carson Professor of Finance and Economics at Columbia Business School.

During the evening, attendees enjoyed a thought-provoking and entertaining fireside chat with the honorees moderated by Steve Liesman. The fireside chat addressed current topics such as the upcoming presidential election and income inequality. Most importantly, each individual provided their thoughts on how we as a country can provide our children with the resources and knowledge to realize their full potential and live lives of opportunity.

CEE also honored three exemplary New York Metropolitan area teachers with the Alfred P. Sloan Teaching Champion Awardsfor their excellence in economic education. These teachers continually deliver this important content in and out of their classrooms and achieve results. This year’s winning teachers are: Theresa Fisher, Ridgefield High School, Ridgefield, CT; Jonathan Joseph, White Plains High School, White Plains, NY; and Gloria Schneider, SAR High School, Bronx, NY.

During the program, Steve also got everyone on their feet to test their economic smarts with questions for high school students from CEE’s National Economics Challenge. Answers were on the honor system, but at the end each guest understood how important these economic questions are to understanding and thriving in this complex and competitive world.

The evening raised a record $800,000 to support CEE’s programs and help us reach our goal to reach and teach every child in the United States to create a more informed citizenry capable of making better decisions as savers, investors, borrowers, voters, and participants in the global economy.

We would also like to thank those who attended, and to thank our sponsors who helped make this amazing event happen!

Follow along as Natalie shares her experience at the Visionary Awards–where we will honor four leaders who promote economic and financial literacy to create a better-informed society. This year’s honorees include Arianna Huffington, Founder of The Huffington Post and Founder and CEO of Thrive Global; Richard Edelman, President and CEO of Edelman, the leading communications marketing firm, with 65 offices and 5,500 employees worldwide; Frank Bisignano, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board of First Data Corporation; and Glenn Hubbard Dean and Russell L. Carson Professor of Finance and Economics at Columbia Business School.

We’re thrilled to announce the winners of the 4th annual Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Teaching Champion Awards, honoring three outstanding NYC metropolitan area teachers for excellence in economic education. Demonstrating innovative teaching methods, lesson plans and learning strategies, these teachers are raising the bar for economic education, and will receive the Sloan Award at our annual Visionary Awards gala at the Plaza Hotel in New York City on Wednesday, October 26.

“We applaud these outstanding teachers for their innovation and dedication to making economic concepts come alive for their students,” said Nan J. Morrison, CEE President and CEO. “We hope that by bringing awareness to their achievements, these educators will inspire their fellow teachers to bring economics and personal finance to every classroom.”

The winners will co-facilitate a training workshop for area teachers and share their best lessons with teachers nationwide through videos on Council for Economic Education’s teacher website, EconEdLink. Winners receive a $5,000 prize, and their schools receive a cash award of $2,500 to support economic and financial education.

Offered since 2013, the Alfred P. Sloan Teaching Champion Awards promote economic education at the high school level by recognizing and honoring teachers who effectively deliver this important content in and out of their classrooms and achieve results. The three award recipients provide students with an understanding of economics and the tools to make informed and responsible decisions throughout their lives.

We are excited to announce this year’s distinguished honorees at the 11th Annual Visionary Awards, four individuals who are making a powerful impact on financial and economic literacy. The Visionary Awards recognize the outstanding achievements of leaders, experts and educators whose efforts are moving the needle in the right direction, helping create a society better able to make informed decisions as consumers, savers, investors, voters, and participants in our global economy.

This year’s honorees include Arianna Huffington, Founder of The Huffington Post and Founder and CEO of Thrive Global; Richard Edelman, President and CEO of Edelman, the leading communications marketing firm, with 65 offices and 5,500 employees worldwide; Frank Bisignano, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board of First Data Corporation; and Glenn Hubbard Dean and Russell L. Carson Professor of Finance and Economics at Columbia Business School.

“One of the greatest gifts we can give the next generation is an early understanding of healthy money habits and basic financial literacy,” said Ms. Huffington. “When we do this, we’re not only helping them to succeed financially, we’re helping them build a foundation that allows them to live a less stressful and more resilient life and reach their full potential.”

The event will be held in New York City’s landmark Plaza Hotel on October 26, the 2016 Visionary Awards will be emceed by Steve Liesman, CNBC’s Senior Economics Reporter.